The Wooing of Lucy Heartfilia
by papalogia
Summary: In which Laxus realizes Lucy is his mate and proceeds to go through draconic courting rituals as explained by the other Dragon Slayers. Obviously, things don't go as planned. Laxus is annoyed, Lucy is confused, and Mirajane is plotting.


**A/N: **So this is my first fic after a devestating 6 year long writers block, and I only recently gave in to the urge to write. This started off as a quick oneshot to my favourite crackship, and soon evolved into the 10k+ monster that you've started to read. Please review, constructive criticism is always, always welcome! There is always room for improvement, and I sincerely hope you stop to tell me what you enjoyed most, and what needed more work! I promise I will take it to heart when I write my next fic! Enjoy!

**Warnings: **Laxus will be somewhat OOC, as I am using my headcanon Laxus for this, meaning he's somewhat dorky, if you will. When I write a serious fic, canon!Laxus will be definitely explored. This is just a fluffy oneshot for LaxLu, meaning oneshot!Laxus must be used.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail in any shape, way, or form, that prestigious honour belongs to Hiro Mashima. The plot of this fic, however, does belong to me.

* * *

It was on a sunny day sometime in March that Laxus Dreyer came to two startling realizations. One, he was in love with Lucy Heartfilia, and two, the Guild was going to cheerfully murder him as a result.

It had all started when he ducked into the guild bright and early in the morning, just as Mira was finishing opening up. He had nodded to the eldest Take-Over Mage as he moved his way up to his office to begin the latest pile of damage reports, taxes and reparations, and was relatively surprised to hear a familiar screeching from his office. He slowly opened his office door and felt his jaw fall slack and his heart pick up suddenly as he took in the sight.

Lucy Heartfilia stood behind his desk in a pair of ratty sweatpants and was red in the face as she yelled into a LacriComm. There were ink spots on her face and her hands had black smudges on the sides. The pile of paperwork looked significantly depleted and his shock increased as he realized his office was clean, and for the first time in months he could actually _see_ the wood of his desk.

"Hey Laxus," Lucy grinned as she swept her way to his side of the desk, "Master assigned me to help you with paperwork because I'm used to finances and-are you okay?"

Laxus thought he had died and gone to heaven.

* * *

"Oh you're_ fucked_," Gajeel cheerfully informed his fellow Slayer that night at the bar, "you just found your mate."

Slayers Night was a weekly tradition that had begun when Gajeel and Natsu had dragged an unwilling Laxus out of his office one Friday. It had taken several shots of vodka before Laxus had loosened up, but he discovered several amusing things in the process. One, the two First Gen Slayers were oddly comforting to hang out with, two, when suitably tipsy, Natsu was actually quite intelligent, and three, Gajeel was a gossip worse than the likes of Mira.

"But Laxus is Second Gen, doesn't the mating compulsion skip him?" Natsu wondered as he signaled for another beer.

"There's only two known Second Gen, and Cobra-san is in jail, so we're kinda grasping at straws here," Sting shrugged from his spot beside Rogue. It had been a surprise for all of them when the Twin Slayers stumbled across them in Crocus several months back, but they had quickly accepted the two into their fold. They had long forgiven their transgressions during the Games, and Laxus found himself growing oddly fond of the blond, who he thought of as a troublesome younger brother.

"Nope, Snake Charmer's mated, too," Gajeel grinned, "and it's to Kinana."

"Bull_shit_," Rogue stated simply. When drunk, the brunet became very...vocal, to put it lightly.

"Kinana? Sweet, pacifistic, carbon-copy of not-scary-Mira Kinana?" Natsu looked at Gajeel with comically wide eyes. Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Yeah, she told the Shrimp when she found out we were mated."

"How did you know?" Laxus asked, leaning forward. Not being raised by a dragon meant that Laxus was left alone to fend for himself and learn about his pseudo-ancestry by way of books alone, and even then the Magical Library had a limited section on genuine draconic lore, within which mating itself was only briefly mentioned and quickly bypassed by the blond in favour of learning how to properly harness his magic. While the urge to learn about dragons only existed for him as a way of making himself stronger, the curious burn within had never truly been put out, and that was where the help of true Slayers like Gajeel, arguably the most educated of the lot, came in handy.

"I don't know, one minute she's bitching at this guy for burning down a library and it was like I'd seen the light or something," Gajeel said. Sting nodded, "It was the same with Yukino. First she's raising hell in the Guild cause Orga'd drank out the bar and electrocuted, like, _everybody_, and the next she's surrounded by glitter and light."

"I just noticed," Natsu mused, "You all felt the compulsion when your mates were getting temperamental. Wonder what that says for the rest of your lives?"

"Or _ours _for that matter?" Rogue muttered.

"You guys had it easy at least," Laxus scowled, "Gajeel, you and Levy were practically joined at the hip before you mated, and Sting and Yukino had an on-off thing going on. We're...friends, but I've tried killing her before."

"It appears that we will have to educate you on the ways of mating as passed down to us by our dragon's," Rogue smirked. Laxus swallowed thickly as the rest of the group grinned evilly, and loosened his collar in anticipation.

_ It'll be worth it...right?_

* * *

_ "Igneel always taught me that food's the best way to go! Cause it shows you can provide or something like that, and cause Luce's a weirdo she eats a lot of strawberry related things. I'm surprised she hasn't turned into one herself! 'Cept the thing is, you hafta make the stuff yourself or it doesn't count!"_

"Son of a _bitch_ why is it so hard to find a good strawberry shortcake recipe?" Laxus scowled into the large cookbook. A dreary Saturday found Laxus sitting in the library with piles of cooking texts, a sight that proved to be an endless source of amusement to the passer-by, who often did a double take as they realized the most powerful mage in Fiore was looking at cupcake recipes.

"Goddammit!" He roared, launching the book into a shelf, which trembled under the force. Laxus slammed his forehead on the desk and groaned. What kind of mate was he if he couldn't even provide Lucy with her favourite dessert? It was hopeless. Even_ Elfman _could cook! Granted, he had Mira as a sister, but...

_ Mira!_ Laxus' head shot up and he felt his chest swell with hope. If anybody in the Guild could help him at this moment, it would be the resident barmaid-slash-demon. He would just have to be extremely careful with his wording, knowing her borderline insane matchmaking tendencies.

* * *

"Oi, Mira!" Laxus called loudly as he swept towards the bar. Mira raised her and and smiled in greeting. "Hello Laxus! What can I get you?"

"I need your help," he began and Mira's eyes lit up. It wasn't often that the aloof Dragon Slayer asked for assistance, and when he did, the moments were to be treasured.

"Certainly! Is it a girl? Oh, is it Cana? Because I'm fairly certain you'll have to fight Bacchus off tooth-and-nail, if not Gildartz, but we can still make this work! Brown haired blue-eyed babies! Or-" Mira was cut off by Laxus waving his hands back and forth and a rather odd look in his eyes.

"God no, Mira, I don't wanna get with that drunkess. She can knock back shots with the other drunk for all I care, I need you to teach me how to make a strawberry shortcake," Mira's mouth popped open in surprise. "Strawberry shortcake? Why do you want to know how to make that? Oh goodness, are you pursuing Erza? Because I know she and Jellal-"

"It's for Lucy!" and at that, Laxus regretting opening his mouth because he _swore_ her eyes turned to hearts at the mention. "Oh my Mavis! You want to date Lucy! Oh this is perfect, you'd have the most adorable children! Bl-"

"It's a thank you gift for helping me with paperwork! Natsu mentioned she liked strawberries and cake," Laxus winced as he saw Mira's eyes zero in on the Fire Dragon Slayer. While the topic of his love life had been quickly averted, it appeared that Natsu was no longer safe. _Sorry man, but it's a small sacrifice._

"Oh that's so kind of you! I think Lucy would really appreciate that! Right, meet me in the kitchens, this could take a while," and with that, Laxus was dragged off by the demon, and Gajeel and Natsu shared a quick glance with each other before sighing. If their comrade managed to make it out alive, it would be a miracle.

* * *

"_Fuck!_" Laxus shouted as he pulled out the burning monstrosity of a cake. Mira had to hold back a groan. This was the sixth cake Laxus had accidentally destroyed. It was odd, because she'd seen the man create a delicious stuffed turkey for Thanksgiving that year, but provide him with a batch of flour and he was as lost as Natsu in a bookstore. "You know, maybe I should-"

"No!" Laxus snarled as he tossed the smoking pastry in the trash. "I have to do this myself!"

"Laxus..." Mira trailed off, a gentle look of understanding crossing her face. _ You truly have changed...you want to prove yourself to your nakama, and I swear I'll do whatever I can to help!_

"Okay, let's try this again!" Mira gave a determined nod and moved to bring out more supplies. Laxus moved through the mixing process with an ease brought on by the previous failures, and carefully poured the finished mixture into a pan. He slid the pan in the oven and bit his lip nervously as the time ticked by.

"You know what they say, seventh time's the charm!" Mira smiled comfortingly towards one of her oldest friends. Laxus gave a small nod and kept his eyes focused on the batter, as if watching it rise would prevent it from burning.

The twenty minutes passed by at an agonizing rate, and when the timer finally dinged, Laxus thought he would pass out due to sheer relief. He pulled out the perfect cake and placed it on the counter while Mira brought out the knife.

"Now slice the cake in half so we can put in the strawberries, and then place the other layer on top, slap on some whipped cream, then the extra strawberries, and we'll stick it in the fridge!" Mira said and Laxus proceeded to do as told, wielding the large knife he was given like a scalpel and the cake was a patient. Mira sighed as the delicious aroma of strawberries and sweetness filled the air and Laxus smiled proudly at his finished creation.

"She's going to love it! Are you sure you don't have a thing for her? Because-"

"_No_, Mira."

* * *

"You look hungry," Laxus tried to keep himself relatively nonchalant as he continued, "you've been going at this for a couple hours. Here. I made it to thank you."

Lucy looked surprised as Laxus placed the plate of strawberry shortcake on top of her pile of paperwork. Lucy shot him a pleased glance as she cooed over the cake. "Oh, I absolutely _adore_ strawberry shortcake! How'd you know? Thank you, Laxus, it smells amazing!" with that, Lucy stuck the fork inside the cake and Laxus felt himself tense as she brought it to her mouth.

"What the hell?" Lucy's face twisted as she swallowed the first bite, and Laxus jerked back in shock. The cake _looked_ perfect and _smelled_ perfect and _Mira_ said it was perfect, what the fuck did he-

"Laxus, did you mix up the salt and sugar? It's okay, I did that too when I first started baking, it's an honest mistake I mean-are you crying? Laxus?!"

* * *

"You fucking mixed the salt and sugar!" Gajeel howled out beside Natsu, who was equally in stitches over the whole ordeal. Sting was turning an appalling shade of red as he gasped for breath, and Rogue was snickering into his bottle of beer. Laxus snarled viciously and threw back his third Red Devil, indicating for another.

"I can't fucking believe I fucked up this badly, she probably thinks I'm an_ idiot_. God I should've just bought the shit, or had Mira make it. I'm a Dragon Slayer for Mavis' sake, how can I not smell the difference between salt and sugar?" Laxus looked positively petulant. Rogue rolled his eyes, "you were surrounded by other overpowering scents. The strawberry flavoured whipped cream, for example, would've drowned out the other scents, and on top of that, there was the burning six failures to fuck up your olfactory senses."

"Don't worry man, Blondie is probably all sunshines and rainbows over the fact that you hand made it. That has to count for something right?" Sting offered in consolation.

"Well, what else can I do? I think it's obvious the providing bit was a failure," Laxus leaned back in his chair, and Gajeel leaned forward with a dark grin.

"My turn."

* * *

_ "Metallicana was a right bastard at times, but damn did he ingrain me with talk about matin'. So what ya gotta do is show her she's like the fuckin' highlight of your world. You gotta give her gifts and shit as a way of courting her."_

"Fuck, fuck, _fuck_," Laxus groaned as he sunk into a chair at the bar. Mira turned towards him with a sympathetic smile. "I heard what happened. It was an honest mistake, Laxus, and Lucy is really grateful that you spent the time to learn how to make her favourite snack."

"I know, now I need to make up for that. What do I buy her?" Laxus asked and Mira looked up contemplatively. "Well, Lucy's always looking for more Celestial Spirit Keys, so maybe you could take a job that has that as part of the reward?"

"Thanks, Mira," and with that, Laxus shot off to the S-Class request board. A cursory glance revealed no job's with Silver Keys as part of the reward, so with a deep breath, Laxus ventured to the regular request board.

It had been well over six years since Laxus had last been near the regular missions, with the S-Class jobs not only paying insanely well but also proving to boost his ego, as he was one of only three mages allowed near it at the time. Half the Guild stopped what the were doing to watch, only to quickly glance away when they heard Laxus's warning growl. The blond lazily swept his gaze over the board and grabbed the only sheet with mention of Celestial Keys as part of the reward. He winced as he took in the request details, but the promise of a Silver Key was far more important than his soon-to-be-bruised reputation. Sighing, Laxus made his way to the bar and slid the request across to Mira, who burst into peals of laughter as she read the request.

"Goodness, Laxus, you really intend to go all out for this woman, don't you?" Mira quickly filed the job in her large book and Laxus huffed impatiently. "Can it, demon."

"Are you sure-"

"I think I hear Bixlow making out with Lisanna in your precious storage room, you should go-"

"_Bixlow!_" And with that, Satan Soul: Sitri was off to wreak havoc upon his teammate.

* * *

The port town of Hargeon resided towards the southernmost part of Fiore, and because only 10% of the populace were capable of utilizing magic, it often had to employ mages from other towns to deal with its issues, most of which were rather demanding missions that their own mages were too weak to do themselves. Occasionally, however, a ridiculous mission managed to weasel its way into foreign towns and the unfortunate soul caught in one of those missions was Laxus.

"Ah, Dreyer-san! I'm so pleased to see you! Right this way, she's been waiting for you!" Avidan Adonai was the mayor of Hargeon, and known to be a rather...airheaded man in real life, to put it kindly. Laxus grit his teeth as he fought the urge to stomp his way to the mayor's mansion, but the mantra of _it's for Lucy, it's for Lucy, it's for Lucy _kept him grounded.

"Anaitis has been looking forward to having a playdate for a while! Keep her company until I come back from my meeting, and you'll get your payment!" Avidan smiled before knocking on a large oak door, which swung open to reveal a positively adorable six year old brunette with wide green eyes. Her face split into a bright wide-toothed smile as she spotted Laxus, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Are you here to play with me?" Laxus gave a brief nod before he was bodily tugged into the room by the deceptively strong child.

"Let's play makeup!" Laxus groaned as Anaitis scrambled for her palette.

* * *

"So, mister, why are you doing this job?" Laxus quirked an eyebrow at the girl as he carefully applied bright pink nail polish to her fingers, matching the shade on his. Years of being on a team with Evergreen meant Laxus had a knowledge of cosmetology rivalled only by the fairy queen herself, and while he kept it to himself, he was secretly proud of the fact that he always managed to keep his nails perfectly manicured and his eyebrows tweezed to perfection, although he wouldn't let that slip out even if Zeref himself was about to end his life.

"What makes you think I'm not just doing your dad a favour?"

"Cause I'm _six_, not _stupid_, I know when daddy hires mages to play with me. Besides, I saw the Grand Magic Games! You should be out fighting goblins!" Laxus felt his lips twitch in amusement. "Goblins? I've never fought those before."

"Yup! Mommy told me they live in really foresty areas cause they live in tree huts! They steal away people's souls, y'know!" Anaitis bobbed her head seriously. "You didn't answer my question."

"The reward includes a Silver Key," Laxus stated, and Anaitis tilted her head. "But you use Caster Type magic, not Holder Type!"

"It's for a friend," he supplied.

"Oh, is it for Lucy-san?" she bounced on the balls of her feet as she waved her hands back and forth to dry them faster. Laxus nodded as he recapped the bottle and leaned back against the bed.

"Oh! She's so pretty! She looks like an angel when she uses her magic!"

"Doesn't she?" Laxus smirked, and Anaitis gasped dramatically. "Do you like Lucy-san?!"

"Shhh," he whispered conspiratorially, "she doesn't know, it's a secret."

"Ohhhh! So you're getting her the key as a gift?" Anaitis whispered back, sweeping her gaze across the room, as if Lucy was going to pop up and bust the two.

"Yup."

"Why do you like her?" she asked curiously, and here Laxus had to pause. Why did he like her, beyond the obvious mate-ship? Laxus thought back hard and slowly began to answer her. "I guess it's because she's...she's like this light. She just makes everybody really happy. She forgave me for...something bad I'd done, and she didn't think twice about it. She's always been really helpful and never thinks twice when somebody needs help. She's caring and...and she always tries to make conversation with me, and most people avoid that, 'cause they think I'll electrocute them but...but she doesn't. She's one of the most genuine people I know."

"Aww," the brunette cooed, and Laxus flushed, cursing himself for turning so sappy. It was true he was once very attracted to her body, but it was after many late night conversations with her as they plowed through paperwork that he found himself growing more and more attached to her. She never failed to make him laugh with anecdotes of the missions she was writing reparations for, and she made him feel...content. He could truly let loose around her.

"You two would make an awesome couple! Now with this key she can fight better so she can beat Flare in the next Games! Boom, boom!" Anaitis jumped towards the middle of the room and took on a dramatic stance.

"_Survey the heavens, open the heavens_..." she began, and Laxus chuckled, and began to recite with her. "_All the stars, far and wide! Show me thy appearance! With such shine, oh Tetrabiblios_ (here, Anaitis let out a mumble that sounded vaguely like 'terracotta'), _I am the ruler of the stars! Aspect become complete! Open thy malevolent gate! Oh 88 stars of the heavens! Shine! Urano metria!_" and with a final shout, Anaitis jumped onto her bed and Laxus flung his arms out like Lucy would have. The room was soon filled with the shrill giggles of a six year old and the baritone of an S-Class mage.

"Now, we should style your hair so Lucy-san likes it better! I'll get my hair ties!"

"Sure-wait, _what?_"

* * *

"Oh, welcome back Laxus!" Mira felt her jaw drop as she took in the powerful mage's appearance. His spiky blond hair was pulled into multiple ponytails jutting out all over his head. He had a light dusting of pink on his cheeks, whether that was powder or him blushing was fully up for debate, and his lips had a sheer pink gloss smeared over them. His fingernails were a garish shade of pink and he had many stick on rhinestone earrings on his earlobes and cartilage. Nevertheless, the man managed to look just as terrifying as usual.

In a corner, Gajeel was clutching Levy like a lifeline as he howled with laughter, tears streaming down his face. Natsu was wheezing on the floor, and Juvia looked alarmed as the Dragon Slayer struggled to breathe. Wendy looked appropriately confused as Carla tutted, and the Raijinshuu looked torn between laughing like the rest of the Guild and yelling at the Guild for doing so.

"Shut the fuck up!" Laxus roared, letting loose a wave of electricity that hit everyone save for Mira, Wendy, Romeo and Carla. The white haired bar maid giggled and ticked off the mission as a success in her book, before storing it under the bar and handing the blond a drink. Laxus quickly tossed back the shot of vodka before storming his way up to his office, muttering about demonic little six year olds being too perceptive for their own good.

"What the_ fuck_?" Cana managed to sputter out.

"Oh, he is so in love with her!" Mira squealed, and Cana nearly dropped her barrel in shock. "Laxus is in love? With who?"

"Lucy, of course! He took that mission to get her a key!"

"Hey, bet's are open on the Laxus-Lucy situation!" Cana shouted and immediately the Guild broke out into shouts as they struggled to get their bets in.

"10,000 Jewels says he asks her out next week!" came Wakaba and Macao's chorus.

"20,000 on Lucy asking Laxus out!" Erza roared.

"I bet 5,000 that Laxus-san asks Lucy-san out for dinner in a month," Wendy said meekly.

"30,000 on Bunny Girl dragging Sparky to the storeroom!" Gajeel yelled and Levy smacked him with a book. "Lu-chan isn't like that! She'd do it in his office."

"I bet 15,000 that Love Rival is asked by Laxus-san in three week's time!" Juvia announced as she clung to Gray, "so Gray-sama should plan to ask out Juvia then, too!"

"Laxus should be a man and ask out Lucy tonight!" Elfman roared, and Evergreen whacked him with her fan in response.

Elsewhere, Lucy felt a shiver run up her spine. _Odd, it feels like I'm being plotted against..._

* * *

"Hey, Lucy," Laxus began. Lucy glanced up from the latest damage report ("How the _fuck_ Wendy managed to level a goddamn duplex in beyond me," Laxus had muttered, and Lucy looked positively horrified as she examined the pictures. "People this tiny shouldn't cause so much damage!"), and smiled brightly at him. Laxus felt his heart skip several beats and he fought down a blush, clearing his throat.

"Went on a mission and got a silver key as part of the payment-" Laxus had barely gotten the word out before the Key was yanked from his grasp and thoroughtly examined.

"Oh! It's Vulpecula, the Fox!" Lucy exclaimed, "oh thank you, Laxus! You're the best!" And with that, Lucy wound her arms around Laxus' neck in a tight embrace. Laxus paused only for a moment before reciprocating, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up. Lucy let out a squeal of surprise before bursting into laughter and nuzzling her face into his neck. Laxus was quite literally was in heaven, her sweet vanilla and strawberry scent overpowering his olfactory senses and he rested his cheek on her head.

_ Laxus: 1, Failure: 1._

* * *

Sting was dying at this point as he clutched a photo of a fully made-up Laxus in his grasp, and Rogue was shaking with laughter. Laxus grinned, too high on his success to give a shit.

"A toast to my man, Laxus, for winning this round of draconic courtship!" Natsu raised his beer bottle and was met with cheers and clinks of other bottles. Laxus drowned the bottle in one go and gave a content sigh.

"She smelled like heaven, and I swear when she smiled there was a fuckin' chorus of angels behind her."

"Were they singing hallelujah?" Rogue snarked, and Sting bopped his twin. "Don't be jelly cause you're forever alone!"

"Fuck you," Rogue said.

"See Salamander? He won this round by my teachings, meaning Metallicana is the better dragon!" Gajeel announced and Natsu shot up. "Whatever man, my providing thing worked when you came wailing about Levy! Laxus is just too stupid to provide! Igneel's the better dragon!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you dumbass bolt bucket!"

With that, a minor tussle broke out and Rogue looked vaguely disappointed. "That's who we hero worshipped growing up?"

"Anyway, what's the next step?" Laxus ignored the two First Gen's as they rolled around the floor, yanking each others hair and piercings. Sting brightened eagerly and clapped his hands together.

"Alright, Laxus-san! Let the great Sting Eucliffe teach you how to woo a woman!"

* * *

_ "Weisslogia told me a really important part of the mating ritual is this thing called nesting. Basically, you gotta build a safe place for your mate! Meaning you gotta renovate the office to suit her needs! This is crucial step 'cause the better the nest, the happier the prospective mate! You gotta make it special! The great Sting managed to woo Yukino with this step! I mean, seriously, we fu-OW! Fuck, Rogue, stop hitting me!"_

Laxus was, by nature, a messy person. His home was what he liked to call an area of controlled chaos. He waited until his laundry piled up on what he affectionately dubbed _The Chair _before tossing it into the washer, his sink was often overflowing with bowls and mugs, and he had miscellaneous objects strewn about, a hazard that had led to poor Freed breaking his nose on the coffee table. His office was no exception to this.

There was a desk towards the back of the room that was so surrounded and piled with paperwork that he hadn't seen the wood in the two years he'd held office (Lucy's initial attempts at organizing had quickly fallen flat as she realized that with the sheer amount of papers being brought in on a weekly basis, there was simply no point in cleaning). A filing cabinet stood in the corner, ready to burst open, and a bookshelf stood beside it, with thick tomes on Fiorian law he'd never actually read crammed into it. Beyond the sparse furniture, there was not much else to the room but pure mess. The carpet was filthy with crumbs and dust, and his garbage bin was overflowing with rotting food. He was fairly certain there was mold growing in the corners and the paint was chipping.

How Laxus had managed to essentially live in there without contracting some unholy disease was beyond his imagining.

"Well, I'm fucked," he mumbled. He figured it would be smartest if he started with the garbage pile in the corner. He made his way over and leaned down to grasp the bag, but the sudden stench of rotting food and bacteria overpowered him and he gagged, reeling back. He scowled and made his way downstairs to the bar.

"I need cleaning supplies, my office is a fucking mess," Mira dropped the glass she was cleaning, and Freed, sitting at one of the seats and chatting amicably with the Take Over mage, nearly fell over.

"I-what? Laxus-sama, you want to clean your office? Why?" Freed asked. In the many years the green haired man had known him, Laxus could generally care less about the state of his office and house.

"It's disgusting, I'm surprised I haven't died of some disease yet," Carla tutted from her seat and said, "you would have come whining to Wendy and she would have fixed you, and you would have gone back to that pigsty, why the sudden change in heart?"

"Carla!" Wendy exclaimed.

"It's not like it's just my office now, is it? I share it," Mira bit back a victorious squeal. Her ship was sailing!

"I-Laxus-sama, you are doing this for Lucy-san? How kind of you! You're so generous, and-" Freed continued to babble as Mira yanked out her prized cleaning set. Laxus's eyes widened as he took in the gigantic box.

"Thanks, Mira," Laxus waved a hand as he made his way to his office.

"Oh my goodness, Cana! He's planning something! Quick, we need to find a way to spy on him!" Cana shrunk back and clung to her barrel protectively. Mirajane Strauss was a positively terrifying woman when she fixated on a pairing in the Guild, and Cana did not want to be caught up in that storm.

* * *

"How...hard...can...this...be?" Laxus grunted in exertion. It was ironic that he, the one and only Laxus Dreyer, who laid waste upon a God Slayer and a Wizard Saint, was being brought down by a stubborn piece of mold he wasn't quite sure wasn't living.

"Ahah!" He shouted victoriously as it came off. He swept it into his pile of dirt and tossed it into the gigantic black bag of trash. So far, he had managed to vacuum the carpet, which he was somewhat horrified to discover was not an off shade of beige, but rather a bright white when properly pressure cleaned, and get rid of the molding and garbage bin, along with properly organizing the bookshelf. Laxus groaned when he realized that he still had to fix the Pile of Death and the Cabinet from Hell, and then repaint the walls.

Sighing, he made his way to the first pile and began to separate the sheets into neat piles.

* * *

The whole thing had taken approximately four hours.

Four hours of tedious separation, and not only was Laxus's eyesight starting to go, but when he finally stretched his back, his spine let out several grating screeches and cracks, and for a moment he was certain he had broken something.

A majority of the paperwork was now sent off to the Council for reviewing, and the rest was either neatly put in the filing cabinet for record purposes, or placed on the desk with enough room to see the wood, something which pleased Laxus to no end.

Laxus nearly broke said desk when he realized he had to repaint the walls.

* * *

"What the hell is the difference between eggshell white and cream white?" Laxus mumbled as he stood in front of the large shelf of paint buckets. He had sent the salesman away just as quickly as he had come, his pride already too bruised from the previous rounds to allow for any assistance, a decision he was regretting.

"Laxus-sama?" Yukino Aguira looked just as surprised as Laxus felt, and he nodded in greeting.

"What are you doing here?" she continued in a friendly tone, "I'm supposed to be picking up some more paint for the Guild to cover up the drywall. We had to replace a portion after Rogue-sama threw Sting-sama through a wall again."

_ Again?_ Laxus rolled his eyes. Those two were just as destructive as their idols, if not worse. "For the office, I have to repaint."

"Oh!" Yukino's eyes lit up, "is this part of your nesting process for Lucy-sama?"

"Yes," Laxus said slowly, "how did...?"

"Sting-sama was quite vocal about it when he found out. He found it highly amusing," if Yukino noticed the blond sparking, she certainly didn't indicate so. "Have you decided what colour?"

"White, I guess," he said, and raised an eyebrow when he heard the Celestial Mage tsk.

"That not only stains too easily, but Lucy-sama would find it incredibly boring! The whole point is to make her feel at home and at peace!" Yukino said, and Laxus saw a metaphorical light go off in his head. "What does she like?"

"You're her mate and you don't know this?" she exclaimed, "think about it! Notice what colours she wears most often!"

Laxus immediately went through his recollection of her outfits. Her first one was blue and white, after that was a blue cheerleading outfit, and then after was blue and white again, then blue and gold, then blue, gold, and white...

"Blue," he said, "like the sky."

"Very good!" Yukino praised, pointing to several cans of blue paint. "I'll leave the shading judgement up to you, but I would stick with the lighter ones. You must've done something else besides a quick clean up and paint job?"

"Actually," Laxus smirked, an idea formulating as he gazed at one particular can of paint, "I know exactly what to do, and I'm going to need your help."

* * *

"Ah, hello Laxus! How-Yukino!" Mira exclaimed as she caught sight of the young mage, who waved cheerfully back.

"Hello, Mirajane-sama!" Yukino called. Immediately, a blur of blonde swept up the Saber, who eagerly reciprocated. "Lucy-sama!"

"Yukino-chan! What're you doing here?" Lucy flashed her fellow Celestial Mage a bright smile, and Laxus once again felt his heart thump eratically. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gajeel and Natsu, who had undoubtedly heard it, swoon dramatically and burst out into laughter. Wendy, who also heard, looked concerned at the sudden quickening of his pulse. Laxus shook his head at her and gave a reassuring half-smile.

"Laxus-sama needed my help is settin-" Yukino immediately corrected herself as Natsu and Gajeel made frantic waving motions with their arms behind Lucy's head, "I mean, Laxus-sama needed some help with inter-guild paperwork. There was some discrepancies with the report filed to the Council from the joint mission Sting-sama and Natsu-sama took a few weeks ago, so I came to clear it up."

"Ahh, makes sense. Natsu can't fill out paperwork if his life depended on it, honestly...that's why I like Laxus's paperwork, not only can you read it, but it's detailed, too!" Lucy shot the man a grin, and he felt his stomach flutter. If she liked his writing so much, he'd write her a goddamn book.

"Should I come hel-" Lucy was cut off by five shouts of 'no!' before she could finish. She looked at Mirajane suspiciously, and gave Yukino another tight hug. "Come over to my house when you're finished! I'll have some snacks ready for you. Laxus, you're always welcome to join us." And with that, Lucy sauntered out of the Guild, summoning Plue with a swish of her Key.

"That was a close one," Yukino sighed.

"Now look here, I have no idea what you two are doing but I know you're getting a little too invested in Lucy to be purely platonic, Laxus. Start talking," Mirajane commanded, and it was with that that Laxus spilled the beans. By the time he was done, Mira looked as though she had died and was sitting in matchmaker heaven. She let out an inhuman squeak and began bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Oh that's so adorable! Laxus, you and Lucy would make a perfect couple! Oh, shoo! You and Yukino have to nest up the office! Whatever you need, just ask!" Mira then yanked out a large book and began scribbling down something under the word 'genotypes', and began mumbling about dominant genes as she doodled absently. Laxus slowly backed up and dragged Yukino with him, leaving Freed to fend for himself in the face of his demonic girlfriend.

* * *

"Good morning Lax-_holy fuck_," Lucy swore as she took in the cleanliness. Laxus chuckled as he swept his arms to the side. "Ta dah."

"Oh my god the carpets are white, I'm both amazed and disgusted..." Lucy looked around in wonder. "Oh! That is such a lovely bamboo plant!"

"They're simple but effective," Laxus said. Lucy nodded in agreement and continued to prod the new environment. Laxus felt his heart soar every time she approved something, and when she finished, he held out his hand for her to take. Lucy immediately placed her small hand in his oversized one, and let out a small yelp when he tugged her to his chest. Laxus grinned and covered her eyes. "You haven't seen the best part yet, hold up."

He released her hand and turned off the light, and, making sure her eyes were still covered, gently lowered her to the ground, and lay back beside her. "Okay, I'm gonna uncover your eyes in three. One...two...three."

Lucy gasped.

The ceiling was covered in hundreds of tiny lacrima, and with the way the paint was chosen, it looked just like the night sky. She inhaled sharply when she realized that the small lights weren't just randomly placed; all twelve of the Ecliptic Zodiac were there, and she noticed the 13th hovering near Libra and Pisces.

"Laxus, this is..."

"That's why I needed Yukino over. I could've done it by the book, but I figured a Celestial Mage would know the stars better," Laxus turned his head to face her, "I wanted to make you feel at home in my office, since you're here so often."

Laxus quite literally felt his brain stop functioning when Lucy scrambled over top of him to hug him tightly. He lay frozen for a moment before engulfing her in his muscular arms. He buried his nose into her hair and breathed in her comforting scent, ingraining it to memory.

"Thank you, thank you so much," she said softly, "this is beautiful. I love it."

"Anything for you, Lucy," Laxus whispered, "anything."

And with that, Lucy turned so her back was to his chest, rested one of her arms on the two wrapped around her waist, and began to point out the constellations to him. Laxus smiled and tightened his hold on her.

* * *

"Oh you fucking sap," Gajeel grinned, "the Shrimp told me that Bunny Girl was in tears at the end of it, and of course Shrimp thought it was the most romantic thing ever. Way to upstart me, bastard."

"What can I say, I know my mate," Laxus smirked, and Sting pouted deeply. The White Dragon Slayer had been in a tantrum of sorts ever since he heard from Yukino what Laxus had done, and was positively petulant that he hadn't thought of it first. "At least the great Sting wasn't a little shitbitch when it came to telling his mate about the compulsion."

"If I remember correctly, it was Yukino who pointed it out after consulting with Crux," Rogue deadpanned, and Sting threw his empty bottle at him. Natsu froze suddenly, his eyes widening.

"Dude, Crux belongs to Luce," Sting raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, she asked Lucy to consult with-oh fuck."

"What? What are we oh-fucking?" Laxus asked.

"That means Lucy knows about the signs of a Slayer entering a matehood," Rogue supplied, "meaning she most likely knows that you're attempting to court her."

"Nah," Gajeel stated, "Bunny Girl caught the Glowstick in the first stage, the cooking thing. Apparently that's such an uncommon occurrence it warranted an investigation."

"But this is Luce, she would've researched this fully!" Natsu protested.

"Calm down, Salamander, chances are Bunny Girl just thinks Laxus is trying to make up for Fantasia, or forging bonds with people for when he takes over the Guild," Gajeel waved it off, and Laxus visibly relaxed, although the tension remained. While he did was to keep the whole thing relatively subtle, he didn't want her to think he was just being platonic.

"I suppose it's time we entered the fourth step," Rogue gave a dark smile, "congratulations. It's my turn."

* * *

_ "This is a vital step. She had accepted your advances thus far, meaning you are going to enter the final step of mateship. You are to mark her to ward off potential suitors. We have all decided to assist you with this, as it is a difficult step. If you succeed, all you have to do is tell her. The rest is up to Lucy."_

Scent was an integral part of a Dragon Slayer's perception. Scents were how Slayers identified a person and their emotions, they could tell friend from foe, the levels of magic within a person, and, of course, who the person was most often around.

Laxus was somewhat annoyed when he realized that overlaying Lucy's scent was that of Natsu, who had taken it upon himself to mark up his best friend as a predatory warning to not only other Slayers, but creatures that could detect at that level. There was not much more dangerous than a Slayer, and those under their protection were known to be fiercely guarded.

It had taken three days, but Natsu had finally managed to convince Lisanna and Bixlow to drag Lucy out for a two week long mission, enough time, Gajeel had declared, to begin the marking process.

"Be safe," Laxus said to Lucy as she stood by her two new teammates at the station. Along with him was the remainder of Team Natsu, who had come to see their "precious little sister" off, and in Erza's case, threaten Bixlow with imminent castration if he tried anything funny. Gajeel tagged along with Levy, as did the rest of the Raijinshuu.

"Of course! Don't let the paperwork kill you now," she teased, and Laxus gave a mock look of horror, "Mavis forbid I die of papercuts."

"Or worse. You get impaled by a pencil," Lucy nodded sagely, and Laxus let out a booming laugh. Sighing, he pulled out his SoundPod and draped the headphones around her neck, pressing the musical lacrima into her palm.

"For the journey. Bixlow is an annoyance if you talk to him for too long, so hopefully this should keep you entertained," Laxus ruffled her hair, and felt his heart soar as she flushed deeply, before she pulled him into a tight hug and running off.

"Can I say it now?"

"I swear to God, cat-"

"_LAXUS LIIIIIIIIIIIKES LUCY!_"

"You're fucking _dead_ you mangy blue pile of shit!"

* * *

"This is so wrong," Laxus groaned, "so, so, so wrong."

"Please, I do it all the time!"

"That is not supposed to make me feel better, flamefuck!"

"Gihihi, you're just jealous cause Salamander has seen more of your mate than you have."

"Gajeel-san, are you trying to start a war?"

"Whatever, Lightbulb."

"The coast is clear. Natsu-san, the honours?"

"Alright!"

"Are you melting her lock?"

"Well, you didn't wanna sneak in through the window or the fireplace!"

"How_ else _are you supposed to get in?"

"Well, there's this one panel in her kitchen that's really loose that backs into-"

"Stop. Please."

"Wow, Lucy-san really keeps her home neat!"

"Alright, Sparky, time to get down to business. Mark up her place. You have two weeks."

"Wait, _what_."

* * *

Laxus sighed and plopped down on Lucy's bed. The marking process had gone remarkably well. The first thing he had done after kicking out his brothers-in-arms was to seal up the place, and by that, he found every possible entrance that had been used in one of Team Natsu's infamous B&amp;E's and cemented them. Thoroughly. And added runes.

After that he sat in her living room, all the while paranoid that Lucy was going to pop up and declare him a stalker (which he totally felt like at this point, but Natsu did it, and so did Gray, and Erza, and Wendy, and Gajeel, and on occasion Sting and Rogue, and-fuck it, he was going to get Lucy Kicked to oblivion), and meditated. He drew in his magic deep within himself, and slowly let out gentle pulses, which swept his magical signature and scent over the place, imprinting himself into her apartment.

This carried on for the next few days.

Laxus sighed again and buried his face in her pillows. Her scent had been dying down, and he longed to inhale that beautiful, calming aroma once again. He turned to the calendar on her desk and smiled slightly when he realized there was only one more day until she returned.

One more day.

And with that thought in mind, Laxus slowly drifted off.

* * *

"What the hell!"

Laxus jumped nearly a foot in the air as he was awoken by a sudden shrieking. The first thing he registered was the overwhelming scent of strawberries and vanilla that was unique to Lucy, and the second thing was the foot that came crashing into his chest. "Lucy Kick!"

"What the fuck, blondie?" Laxus yelled, scrambling to his feet and dodging the thick books she threw his way.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed, spark plug?!" Lucy screeched, yanking off her very sharp and pointy boots to throw next. Laxus deftly caught the first one with a smirk, "ha! Caugh-_FUCK_!" Lucy gave a vindictive smile as the second boot collided with his head, leaving a distinctive red mark.

"Oi, it isn't what you think!"

"I come home after two weeks to find my apartment smelling very strongly of ozone and rainstorms and I find you in my bed! It's exactly what I think!" Lucy yelled. Laxus stopped and drew himself to his full height, glaring. "What, you think I crept my way in here to sleep in your bed?"

"That's exactly what you did!"

"You don't have an issue when Natsu does it!"

"Natsu is different!"

"How?"

"Because he's my best friend, you're not!"

A silence fell immediately and Laxus backed up. She was right. He had absolutely no right invading her privacy like he had, he couldn't even constitute as one of her close friends. Shame rose from deep in his gut, and he fought the sudden sting behind his eyes. He fucked up.

"You're right," he said hollowly, "I'm so sorry."

Laxus turned and ran.

* * *

Gajeel's usual table at the Guild played host to the regular group of Slayers, and a thick silence blanketed the area. Mira had passed by several times, the first to berate the boys for ever thinking that was remotely appropriate, the second to hand out drinks, and the third to give a morose Laxus a tight hug. The Raijinshuu had tried to console him, but a quick shake of the head from Gajeel and Rogue warned them off, although they sat close by.

"I apologize," Rogue said quietly, "I had not realized my plan would backfire in such a way."

"Not your fault," Gajeel said gruffly, "we told him to stay in Bunny's house."

"I don't get it, Luce only gets really kick-happy when we do it, why is she pissy when Laxus does?" Natsu asked, and Sting sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"You're best friends with her, Natsu-san, you're close with her on a level that Laxus-san isn't. Pretend for a minute that you did that with...Levy-san. You're nakama with her, but it would be odd because you're not someone like Gajeel-san, or Lucy-san," Sting explained.

"Oh," Natsu said.

"There's not much more I can do, is there?" Laxus asked. A glance was exchanged between the Slayers as they wracked their minds for any supplementary lessons their dragons had given them before leaving. They remained silent when they realized that was all they knew.

"There is," a soft voice came from in front of them. Laxus snapped his head to the left and was surprised to see a stern faced Wendy Marvell standing there.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been doing this incorrectly the whole time, Laxus-san," Wendy began, marching up to him, "the other Slayers have, too."

"What do you mean?" Sting demanded, "I got Yukino this way! And so did Gajeel!"

"You '_got_' nothing, Sting-san! You and Yukino-san were already in an established semi-relationship with each other, and Gajeel-san and Levy-chan were dating each other when it occurred! The concept of _mating_ was not something that needed to be carefully approached as you were already in love, but Laxus-san barely knows Lucy-nee!" Wendy lectured, and Laxus felt himself go slack with shock, and, judging by the dumbstruck looks on the other Slayers faces, they were too. When had the demure little girl become so bold?

"You have been approaching this with your dragon parents teachings, but you forgot entirely that our dragon parents were mating members of their own species! They taught us what they know, but you forget that they're magical beasts, and we're human!" Wendy exclaimed, and Laxus felt like punching himself. How had that passed over his head? He wasn't as worldly intelligent as Freed or Levy or Lucy, but he was one of the more intelligent members on the Guild.

"But then how did-?" Gajeel began, and Wendy waved her hand, "Levy-san researched dragons thoroughly when you began dating and understood what you were doing was part of your culture, as did Yukino-san after she asked Crux-san. Lucy-nee may have known, but she knows of the way genuine dragons go about mating! They produce their kills, not cake, they provide lavish jewels, not keys, they build homes for future children, they don't renovate offices, and they mark their mate by not leaving their side for days, they don't lay around their mates home! When humans are in love, they talk! They go out with each other, spend time with each other! They bond, and they try to learn about each other! They go above and beyond to try and _connect_!"

Wendy panted as she finished her passionate speech, and the Slayers looked highly uncomfortable. Mira was smiling softly at the young girl, a maternal emotion blossoming in her chest. _Wendy-chan, you've grown so much..._

"So...what does he do, Wendy?" Natsu asked, and Wendy glanced at Laxus. The powerful man looked defeated, and his stormy blue eyes were desperate as they implored her dark brown ones.

Wendy smiled gently.

* * *

_ "Talk to her."_

Laxus was never the most vocal of people. Growing up in the verbally and emotionally abusive household that belonged to Ivan Dreyer meant that he understood quickly that words were only to be spoken if absolutely necessary. He was raised to never associate with those deemed inferior to himself in power, as they were what his father deemed a hindrance, and those of his power level were the enemy.

Even after he underwent his soul-searching journey and was reinstated, Laxus was never truly comfortable talking with his nakama. He spoke only to the Raijinshuu, his longtime best friends, Mira and Cana, both having long been confidantes of his, Gildartz, a mentor, the Slayers, his brothers (and sister) if he thought about it, and Lucy. His social skills were stunted and while he was trying his damnest to evolve them they were still not the best.

"Lucy," Laxus said as he shuffled in front of her door. "Can I come in? We need to talk."

Lucy nodded and opened the door fully. Laxus strode in and took off his boots, avoiding her burning stare. He could feel his heart thump painfully, and he was a half second from bolting out the door and never returning. He made his way to the living room, following her, and seated himself on the sofa. His palms were shaking visibly and he braced them on his knees in an attempt to make them less noticeable.

"Tea?" Laxus shook his head quickly. His stomach was churning too much to even consider anything entering it, and he felt vaguely lightheaded.

"Before you begin, I need to apologize," Lucy said, sitting next to him and angling her body to face him, "I overreacted. I just really dislike it when people enter my house, especially my team, but I'm so used to Natsu doing it it just felt-"

"Stop," Laxus raised a hand, and Lucy immediately paused.

"I fucked up," he stated, "I had _no_ right to intrude on your privacy the way I did. I understand if you never want to speak to me again, but I need to get this off my chest."

Lucy nodded slowly, and Laxus steeled himself. He licked his chapped lips and took a shaky breath, rubbing his face, and stared her dead in the eye.

"You're my mate."

Lucy's mouth fell open and she immediately clapped her hands over it. Laxus exhaled sharply and continued before she could stop him.

"I found out over three months ago, when you were assigned to help me. We were friendly before that, and I had always found you attractive, but I didn't know why. I asked the other Slayers why that day elicited such a strong reaction and they said it was the mating compulsion. I was in a conundrum. I had no dragon parent to teach me this, and all I was left with was the guys, and even then only two were mated and already in relationships with their mates, so they told me what to do," once the words started flowing, Laxus felt as though a dam had burst, and suddenly everything came rushing out, "I was frustrated, I had no idea how to go about telling you this, so I tried to execute the rituals they told me...and I fucked up pretty royally. I had to ask Mira for help," at this, Lucy let out a small giggle, and Laxus felt his lip twitch upwards, "you think it's funny, but that woman in a nightmare in the kitchen."

"I know, who do you think taught me to cook?" Lucy smiled, and Laxus took that as a good sign. There was conversation happening, right?

"I didn't want to make you super uncomfortable with this, so I tried to keep it platonic but-" Laxus was cut off by Lucy's hand clamping over his mouth. He quirked an eyebrow as she began to speak.

"I'm not going to pretend that I'm not annoyed by this, Laxus, but I'm going to be frank with you-I am attracted to you, and I wish you'd told me this sooner. I would've saved me a whole lot of trouble," Laxus froze, his eyes widening comically. His mouth parted under Lucy's hand and she smiled wider.

"Wait, what!" he exclaimed once she removed her palm. She nodded seriously and continued, "why do you think I volunteered to help you? I wanted to get to know you better! You're such a kind person, Laxus, and you're always looking out for your nakama, even if you don't admit it! Natsu won't stop raving about you, and I wanted to get to know that side of you. The side I'd fallen for," she blushed deeply, "that must sound so creepy to you, falling in love with someone just by-meep!"

Laxus pulled Lucy to his chest tightly and laughed, placing a kiss on the crown of her head and rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "Fucking hell, we're a mess, aren't we? Here I am trying to woo you, and you're already half in love with me."

"Well," Lucy giggled, "some good did come out of this."

"Yeah," Laxus ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit, and gave a hopeful grin, "so I take it this is our chance to get to know each other better before we start dating?"

"Who says we'll be dating, mister?" Lucy teased, "I just wanted to get to know you better. What comes after that is entirely up to you!"

"I tried courting you for three months, what's another three?" Laxus grinned. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, and if he had to put a feeling to it, he felt exhilarated. His chest felt like it would burst and his heart was skipping beats, as was Lucy's, from what he could hear.

"You know what? Here's a little reward for the first three months," and with that, Lucy moved up and sealed her lips on his. It took a moment before Laxus responded, but he did so with a vigor unlike any other. He immediately pulled her lower lip into his mouth and sucked on it, slipping one hand through her silky hair and resting the other on her lower back, to pull her closer. Lucy wound her arms around his neck and pulled her lip out to gasp in air before she was yanked back. Laxus plunged his tongue into her mouth and explored her exotic taste, her own tongue coming to meet his stroke for stroke. He broke away with a nibble to her lower lip, and made his way to her neck, placing kisses on his way to her pulse point. Lucy inhaled sharply and threaded her fingers through his spiky hair as he began to suck at the skin on her neck. He pulled away and planted a soft kiss on the hickey, and looked up at her with a euphoric smile.

"Damn I can't wait for three months to be over," Lucy mumbled, touching her lips. Laxus chuckled and gave her a quick peck. "We don't have to wait..."

"Nuh uh, mister! We're going to get to know each other like normal people before we even begin this! No more kisses!"

"Not even one?"

"Well...maybe one. Or two."

"Anything for you, Lucy."

"Word of warning, sneak into my bedroom again and I _will_ use my whip on you."

"Will you now? I wouldn't min-ow!"

"Perv!"

* * *

"So you didn't get the girl," Sting grinned. Rogue rolled his eyes, "if you bothered to listen, _Master Sting_, you would have realized they have reached a contract of sorts. He technically has."

"Ah, but they're not dating now, are they?" Sting asked triumphantly. Rogue facepalmed and began mumbling about the downfall of Sabertooth.

"Congrats, Laxus! Hurt Luce and I swear I will, uh...kill you by fire! What's the word again? Starts with an 'I'…" Natsu furrowed his brows in thought.

"Immolate," Gajeel supplied, and Natsu snapped his fingers, "yeah! That! I'll immolate you!"

"Get in line, Natsu, he hurts me and he has the Zodiac to get through," Lucy smiled serenly as she draped her arms around Laxus's neck. The Lightning Dragon Slayer leaned back in her embrace and placed a hand on top of her joined ones.

"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick, sappy bastards," Gajeel made exaggerated retching noises, and Laxus sent a quick jolt his way. "Suck it the fuck up, pincushion."

"Boys," Lucy warned. She bent down and pecked Laxus lightly before moving off to speak with a screeching Mirajane, who had started taking pictures the moment she saw the two touch. Cana was cackling as she collected her bet money and slid her booze to Lucy, who rolled her eyes and declined. Laxus smiled as Natsu, Gajeel and Sting broke out into a Guild brawl, and Rogue tugged Wendy to his side, narrowly dodging a flying chair. Gray immediately joined in, and Erza snarled, drawing her sword as her precious cake was destroyed. Lucy gave a pealing laugh, and Laxus closed his eyes, revelling in the sound.

It was on a sunny day sometime in May that Laxus Dreyer came to two startling realizations; one, he was in love with one Lucy Heartfilia, and two, so was she.

All was right in the world.

"Alright,_ who the fuck threw that table at me?!_"

Well, as right as Fairy Tail could get, anyway.

* * *

**A/N: **That only took me three days of no sleep to finish. I really enjoyed creating this, and I hope you enjoyed my headcanon!Slayers as presented when drunk. The idea for this came to me around 3 in the morning when I took a break from studying Chem, so if this trend continues, I suppose you'll be seeing more of me here! LaxLu has always been one of my favourite crackships (I hardcore ship NaLu, it's essentially endgame, but being the multishipper I am, everything appeals to me), and I wanted my first serious fanfic post hiatus to be for them.

I think one of the reasons I wrote this was because I wanted to explore the mating trope. Often times when you see mating in Fairy Tail fanfiction, they tend to use draconic methods to do so (biting, marking, splitting magic, one-dies-so-does-the-other, etc.,), but I think a lot of people forget that while they Slayers are capable of using Dragon Slayer Magic and share many attributes, their human mates do not. Dragons mate with dragons, meaning their prospective mates know about the rituals, and have the mentality for it. But humans? I think humans are a whole other kerfuffle to deal with. Each species 'mates' differently, and Slayers are no exception.

This 24 page, 10,395 word long monstrosity is my baby, and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!

Thank you!

-Touko


End file.
